Hoax iPhone 7 images hit the internet - but what can we expect from the next iPhone?

What will the new Iphone 7 look like?

Published:09:12Monday 07 December 2015

It’s that time of year again - no, not Christmas - but time for internet cads to fire up their copy of Photoshop and attempt to dupe Apple fans with images claiming to be leaked photos of the next generation iPhone.

The latest images to do the rounds on social media purport to be the iPhone 7 - due to come out in 2016 - and feature an iPhone 6, stretched comically to accommodate a Blackberry-style QUERTY keyboard.

Many users on social media seemed to buy in to the hoax, although it was quickly recognised as a joke by many others.

But what do we know about the iPhone 7?

Well as usual, no one outside of Apple or their supply chain knows very much for certain. The organisation has kept the project under wraps, with no release date confirmed for the device although there are rumours of an Autumn 2016 release. Here are some of the other rumoured features:

* No home button - According to reports in Forbes the next generation iPhone is likely to have an edge-to-edge display. Instead of using the home button, the fingerprint scanner will be built in to the phone display.

* Thinner handset - In the same report, Forbes’ Gordon Kelly indicates that a number of factors, including Apple’s rumoured choice of a processor manufactured by TSMC, indicate that one of the firm’s goals for the new iPhone is for it to be thinner than its predecessor.

* No headphone jack - Another rumour to surface is that the 3.5mm headphone jack will be eliminated from the new handset - possibly as a consequence of the thinner device.

* Waterproof handset - In a development that will make anyone who has ever dropped their phone in the sink very happy, some analysts are hinting that the iPhone 7 could feature waterproofed ports and seams. It’s worth pointing out that this was also a rumour about the iPhone 6 prior to its launch.

* Wireless charging - Information Week is reporting that wireless charging could be a feature of the new device.

Are you keeping an eye out for a release date of the iPhone 7? Which of these features would you most like to see?